That Summer In The Country

Ten

Ten

There wasn't any escape. Not really. She didn't know how Aleksander had gotten her cell phone number, but her phone started vibrating almost the moment she got into her uber. She ignored it completely. She would take the train back to the Morozova country home. Where they'd probably find her, and corner her sooner or later. But with Aunt Ana there, at least she could hide for a little bit.

If her aunt asked about why she left the internship, she'd lie. She'd tell her she was sick and not feeling well. Her phone kept on vibrating even on the train home, only it had now switched to Mal's name. Which was worse, because his caller ID actually had a dumb picture he'd texted her one night when he was bored.

Alina walked the long drive up to the main house. She prayed to the Saints that she would be able to get to the cottage without anyone finding her. But as she was walking to the back, where the groundskeeper's cottage was, she heard her name being called. "Alina!"

She winced. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Mal running towards her. He wore a white t-shirt and jeans, with a silver chain around his neck. Alina didn't stop long. She kept on walking.

"Alina, stop!" he called.

"No!" she called over her shoulder.

He finally made it to her, panting. "You left the internship, and you didn't tell anyone. Are you alright?"

"No, I'm not," said Alina, "and I'm not doing this either. The internship. You. Him. I don't know why I let myself get caught up in this. This is disgusting. It's wrong. It's fucked up."

Mal sighed. "Never said it wasn't."

"Then why do it?" she said. "Are you so competitive with each other that you can't let the other be happy?

Mal nodded. "Yes. And that's part of the problem. We nearly killed a girl because of it."

"Who?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his short hair. "Genya Safin. She was my high school girlfriend. She used to come over all of the time. Once, Aleksander gave her a ride home when she was walking home from school. I became convinced they were having an affair behind my back. I followed them, and we wound up in a car wreck. Genya's okay, but she never spoke to either of us again."

Alina frowned. "What about the girl that went to work for the Lantsovs?"

He scratched his head. "You mean Zoya? How'd you hear about her?"

"Fedyor gossips."

"She left because she's had an on again off again thing with Nikolai Lantsov, and the two of them finally got together. She's pregnant with his baby."

"Are you positive it's his?" Alina asked.

"Absolutely," said Mal, "Aleksander and I both did DNA tests. Zoya made us, because otherwise Nikolai was going to make her sign a prenup. We didn't want her to end up with nothing so we both took one."

"But other then that, you're on good terms?"

Mal chuckled. "As good as anyone can be with Zoya. She's prickly by nature."

Alina found herself crying, and she hated it. She wiped a tear angrily away from her cheek.

Mal reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Lina, are you crying?"

"No," she lied.

"I can see your face. You are crying. Why are you crying?"

"I thought...I don't know. I thought maybe you were messing with me, playing some terrible game. Because I'm the servant's niece."

He shook his head. "Lina, that's not what this is. I won't lie to you and say that this is a fairytale of any kind. Other then that we're two beasts. But this is how we keep our family together. You remember what we were like as children, don't you? He'd kick me and push me downstairs and it only got worse when we were older. We each thought that the other one was trying to get rid of the other. Zoya was the first girl we fucked together. It sounds strange but...it works for us."

"Zoya?" Alina said.

"The girl that is dating the Lantsov heir now," he said, "she was Aleks's old college girlfriend, and she had a thing for me. Aleks found out about it and wasn't happy. Zoya was the one who proposed sharing, we just took her up on it. Since then, it's how we've done things."

"You're really not doing this as a joke?"

He hugged her to him. "We're really not doing this as a joke."

"It's not fair, you know."

He looked down at her. "What's not fair?"

"Well, you own this place. The cottage, even. I don't have anywhere to properly run to if this goes wrong. You'd just come and find me and I'd be completely at your mercy."

He smirked. "That's the point, Sticks."

She scowled. "Oh, I hate it when you call me that. Besides, I'm not even like that anymore. Tall, and gangly. I do have curves now you know. Breasts."

He smirked wider. "I do know, Alina." He glanced down at her breasts, taking them in greedily. "You've no idea how much I wish I could play with those curves. However, I've been told that I'm supposed to wait until my brother can get a contract for us. It seems someone made that stipulation to be difficult."

Alina blushed. "You want to take pictures and video and share them between each other. I've got to protect myself. If something came out about you, no one would care. But with me...."

"I know," he said, "they'd be brutal. I understand. But please just.... don't give up on us before we've even tried it."

She sighed. "Fine. I won't."

"You'll sign the contract?"

"I'll sign the contract."

He reached out and stroked her cheek. "Excellent. Because Aleksander told me about his plans for the butt plug, and I was expecting some delicious pictures of your pert, little bottom. And I was deprived of them. Do you know that once the contract is signed, you're going to have to be punished?"

"I do know," she said, "Aleksander mentioned something about that."

"Well, be prepared, Alina. You're going to be devoured. Aleksander's going to deliver that contract tonight, and then we're going to whisk you away, and we're going to make all of your greatest fantasies come true. Things you couldn't even begin to imagine."

Alina blushed. "Can't wait."

"I thought so," he said, "rest up, Little Alina. Tonight, the fun begins."